In 2004, the World Health Organization reported and estimated 388,000 deaths from drowning worldwide, which is the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury and deaths. In the United States, there is an average of nine drowning related deaths per day. With each drowning death, it is estimated that about one to four nonfatal submersions, serious enough to result in hospitalization, occur. The international life saving federation (ILS) indicates that most of these drowning related deaths occurred within 60 seconds of the individual becoming submerged.
The ability to quickly deliver a flotation device to a person in danger of drowning is imperative in any rescue attempt. It is also critical for untrained persons to have the ability to deliver these flotation devices and be able to retrieve them without fouling. This is necessary to render proper, effective and immediate assistance. Typically, a life ring buoy or a flotation cushion is deployed to the person in distress to aid this person in staying above water; a retrieval line is used to pull the flotation device with the person in distress to safety, which is often to a boat, a shoreline, a dock, a poolside, a float or a bridge.
Life ring buoys and flotation cushions have been a valuable life saving asset for many years in emergency rescues of persons in distress and in need of assistance from drowning. There are two widely accepted and approved types of life ring buoys in use, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) approved Type IV and the Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS). Typically, both types are commercially available with a multifilament grab line secured in four places around the perimeter. The length of the retrieval line is dependent on the application and location. For example, passenger and cargo ships are required to have a retrieval line and a type IV life ring, twice the vertical height at which the retrieval line is stowed above the water line in the lightest seagoing condition. A buoyant lifeline is specified by SOLAS code for this application.
The procedure of deploying a flotation cushion or life ring buoy to a person in distress and retrieving the person with the line becomes hampered when the floatation aid fails to reach the person, due to fouling of the retrieval line. Commercially available standard U.S.C.G. approved type IV life rings use strobe lights with the retrieval line in which the retrieval line is stowed on racks, coiled up on a drum, coiled up in a bag, coiled up on the life ring rack and even tied up with a light weight, easily brake away string for the retrieval line to be released. All of which are unorganized and require preparation prior to deployment.
In use today, at very best, are life rings, retrievable lines and very big and bulky strobe lights. The three components are linked together in many different methods. Deploying three objects with just one person is awkward, with the distance and accuracy severely compromised. Resulting in precious time being lost when seconds could make the difference between a successful rescue and a failed rescue attempt.
The object of the present invention is to improve the response time and delivery accuracy of the flotation aid to the person requiring assistance. It is also the object of the present invention to protect the retrieval line from direct sunlight by keeping it stowed, preventing ultraviolet degradation. The distance that the retrieval line extends should be dependent upon the strength of the person operating the device, rather than by a restriction in the retrieval line from a snarl, kink or snag. Another object of the present invention is to combine the flotation cushion and the life ring buoy with the retrieval line and an illuminating source, such as a strobe light, into a single device.